September Wind
by One Thousand Ways
Summary: Sam 'wakes up' as a ghost to find out that Danny & Valerie had been kidnapped by the ghost king's minions 3 years back. Now the survivors have to figure out a way to get them back and put an end to the king's reign. DS
1. Her first conscious moment

September Wind

Disclaimer: This is the official disclaimer for the rest of the story. I do not own any of the characters in this story.

The first thing the teenage girl recognized when she opened her eyes was the chill of the September wind that eloped her. She was staring up at a dark blue sky empty of every star. A broken streetlight peeked in her peripheral vision and the feeling of lightheadedness overwhelmed her. She closed her eyes for one minute more running her fingertips along her forehead as if to brush off the feeling.

"Where am I?" Her words came out breathy and soft all the while amazing her how weak she had sounded. The girl reached under her to help herself up only touching the rough ground before losing feeling of it. She glanced down amazed to see it vanishing below her as she was propelled upward feeling as weightless as she ever did.

Her eyes darted around for a second and she hesitantly brought out her hands in front of her eyes. Her skin was flawless and smooth but a blue color tinted it. She found herself breathless and her hands shot to her chest when she found she didn't need to breath. The girl glanced below her at the sleepy city picking out every detail from the darkness. The words went unspoken but she now knew them to be true.

She was a ghost, she—whoever she was—was dead.

Chapter 1: Her first conscious moment

"Wow, I'd heard the rumors but I didn't actually think they were true. Look who it is, officially dead now." The newly dead girl heard someone say from behind her and she'd wished she could say the voice was vaguely familiar—but it wasn't, she could testify of never having heard that before.

She'd turned in the air finally getting used to this maneuvering deal and looked at the figure behind her. Another ghost…the though struck her instantaneously. The figure was one of a female, appearing not to be older than eighteen. She had white skin with flaming blue hair. She wore a skin revealing outfit with boots and had a instrument strapped across her back.

"Do I know you?" The girl asked floating back enough to catch a glimpse of her own hair float into her sight.

Her hair was caught between a white and blue, simply much lighter than the color of her skin. She continued talking while looking at a few strands and then tucking them behind her ear.

"Do you know me?"

The ghost in front of her paused looking fairly thoughtful before she shrugged. "Yeah, I'd forgotten about that. You lose all your memory after you die."

The girl cocked her head to the side and watched intently. "Why?" She asked. Why couldn't she remember who she was or how she ended up here?

The ghost chuckled for a second before adjusting her guitar. "Safety reasons dipstick. If you remembered who you were or how you died you'd go out for revenge on whoever killed ya? Get it?"

The newly dead girl nodded slowly and the ghost continued, "We've meet. You were the halfa's old friend, Sam or something."

Sam, Sam, Sam—it didn't sound familiar but maybe it would do.

"And you would be?" Sam asked ignoring what the ghost said about a 'halfa'.

The ghost looked hesitant on revealing her name but then she apparently had a sudden thought.

"The names Ember" She held out a hand and Sam shook it cautiously. "I never liked you when you were alive but that doesn't matter now Besides, you'll need a lot of help figuring out which way is up anyway."

Her voice carried the message of a hidden agenda and Sam had picked up on it. Whatever Ember was planning still did not sound like a particularly dangerous one so Sam agreed. The sky was just beginning to change as the warnings of the sun coming were spreading out across the sky. Ember jerked her head toward the air in front of them, "Come on, if we stick around here too long something will get us."

Sam nodded finding her will and floating reasonably effortless next to Ember. A few questions were popping up in her mind but she picked out one above the rest.

"If we can't remember who we are when we die, then how do you know your name?" Ember didn't even look at Sam when she answered.

"There are ways of getting around that kid. Trust me though, when I remembered I did go out for revenge until your boyfriend ruined it for me." She muttered the last part under her breath but Sam caught it regardless.

Ember knew more than she let on and suddenly Sam stopped flying and stayed in one place floating in the air. Ember stopped a second later and glared daggers at her."

"What? Are your non-existent wings broken? If we don't beat it out of here those ghost hunters will be back and then you'll really be on your own." Ember urged still floating slowly back even as she spoke.

"Wait up! If you said I could still remember my past shouldn't I before we go zipping off into some ghost zone or something!" Sam wasn't sure what she was arguing and Ember sent her a glare.

"From what I hear, you'd be happier not knowing." Ember bit off and watched Sam stay still there remaining persistent. The ghost-musician struck the air with a fist and muttered something incoherent.

"Look, if I take you to your stupid home will you give it up and quick bugging about it?"

Sam smiled triumphantly and nodded. Ember looked below them mapping out the city in her mind and finding the location she wanted. Without even a words warning to Sam she jet off in the desired direction leaving Sam to struggle to keep up.

When they'd arrived at ground level Ember barked at Sam to go invisible. In a few attempts Sam did manage to get it.

"It won't do much good anyway. They probably have ghost sensors all over the place, but why make it easy."

Sam didn't listen to her much staring at the oddly shaped building in front of her. It didn't seem familiar but it was the closest link she had right now. While exaiming the building a thought struck her.

"Did I live with the ghost hunters?"

Ember stood on the ground next to her and shrugged even though she was still invisible. "Well, this is your boyfriends house. I don't know where you actually lived. He was a half ghost- half kid and lived here with a family of ghost hunters. Once your done reminiscing I'd say we leave—we are walking into a friggin' trap."

The disgruntled ghost went on to complain. Half-human half-ghost. That struck a chord. Sam hesitated kicking off the ground a few feet and floating closer despite Ember's warnings. She reached out to touch the side of the brick building just to see if she could feel it under her fingertips. There was a flash and Sam was suddenly thrown back putting her arms in front of her face just before she was hit by it. Her world turned and the next thing she knew she was on her back covered in a glowing green net and staring up at the sky.

"Dangit kid!" Sam heard Ember call out and saw her fly up into the air.

"You're not getting away!" Called another voice—the owner of it on the tip of Sam's tongue.

A bright blast shot over Sam's head and Ember barely dodged it pulling forth her guitar.

The ghost hunter who had caught Sam shot once more throwing Ember off balance. Sam closed her eyes and racked her brain. That voice, that voice belonged to someone she knew.

Jazz! A bell rang and Sam shot up into a sitting position in record speed. "Jazz stop it!"

The orange haired teen clad in a blue jumpsuit glanced toward her, their eyes meeting and holding there for a second. Jazz's mouth fell open and the gun lowered down to the ground.

"Sam?" She said slowly but shot to her feet just in time to avoid a devastating blow.

Ember adjusted her guitar again focusing on the now weaponless ghost hunter. Sam panicked looking between the two. She unconsciously gripped the dirt floor under her and willed Ember to stop before she did some serious damage. The grass and dirt she clung onto suddenly felt hot and before Sam could acknowledge what had happened a bolt of purplish lightening shot up from the ground and struck Ember enough to shock her.

Sam released the ground as if it had burnt her and stared up at her ghost companion who looked just as confused as she did.

"Just let me figure this out." She pleaded and turned back to Jazz who leaned back against the wall almost trying to back away further.

Ember landed on the ground next to Sam still stinging from that blow. She probably should have suspected it before, most ghosts had extra powers after they died—her own being her guitar. A moment of silence fell over them and then the young ghost hunter came up and pulled the net off of Sam to get a clear look at her.

"It really is you." Jazz said softly examining the girl in front of her. "We'd figured—" Jazz swallowed suddenly finding it very hard to speak, "You wouldn't have come back as a ghost since you died so long ago."

"How long ago?" Sam knew she didn't see a body when she woke up but she had never guessed she'd been dead for awhile. Her first conscious moment as a ghost was just a few hours ago.

Jazz folded up the net slowly, and occasionally glancing at Ember.

"We should…talk about this inside. What about her?" Jazz jerked her head toward Ember just as Sam stood up.

"If I go she comes. I trust her enough." Sam said realizing to the full extent she did trust Ember. She knew Ember had something up her sleeve but she didn't expect a knife in her back if she turned around. There was just something about her—maybe ghost intuition.

Jazz nodded leading the two in, Ember reluctantly trailing behind Sam.

a/n: I hope that wasn't confusing in the beginning and if anyone can think of a better summary for this story tell me. And review- those are always nice.


	2. Since I’m a ghost…

September Wind

Chapter 2: Since I'm a ghost…

"He's coming." Jazz hung up the phone and picked up the cup of coffee she'd left on the table.

Ember had posted herself against a wall, arms crossed and Sam did her best to lean back against the couch—the ghost syndrome of floating was haunting her. She had asked to borrow a mirror and marveled at her new looks. Her skin was almost a tainted white, reasonably pale, glowing with a blue tint but her hair was blinding white with a light blue shade. Her lips were darker, a contrast at how much the baby blue came out. Her eyes were also ice, and her clothes and boots shades of white. She'd run a finger over her skin amazed at how perfect it looked—but if she had to die to get it she really didn't care for it that much.

"So, Sam you don't remember anything?"

Sam looked away from the mirror letting it drop through her onto the couch. "I don't," Her voice still came out soft but audible nonetheless.

Jazz took a sip from her coffee while sitting cross-legged on a lazy boy couch. She had a grim look on her face which matched the surroundings—the place that once was lived in and had the atmosphere of life within it had been at mercy to time. A layer of dust covered most everything except for the few things Jazz had cared to use or move.

"I'm not sure where to start then…Tucker knew you longer than I or Danny ever did so we should wait for him." Jazz uncertainly meet Sam's eyes.

"Well, what about my boyfriend—Danny right?" Sam asked to fill the silence and once the words rolled off her tongue a watery smile lit up the orange haired girl's face.

"You weren't dating honestly. But you were best friends so everyone," Jazz glanced toward Ember who stood posted in the corner, "always thought you were…..I'm not sure what happened in all honestly. There were only three people there that could be sure and you were one of them." Her voice grew soft again and she looked down into the swirling brown drink seeing only a tiny silhouette of herself reflected.

Jazz let out a sigh taking her sweet time with this and Sam suspected she was simply stalling. Yet when no one came to her rescue in the few moments she had been quiet she continued again.

"There was a ghost free or something, the son of the ghost king who was determined to free his father from eternal sleep. Danny and you were together—walking home from school I guess and even Valerie was there."

Sam closed her eyes as she spoke trying to picture the scene. She could imagine the park, and she could even put a face on the halfa everyone spoke about. Yet she kept staring at the ground kicking at it with her boots. Maybe they had told her something that she didn't want to remember or was it just her mind filling in empty space.

"There was a confrontation, and Danny and Valerie must have been kidnapped because they both vanished…. It was a really bad storm going on that day and no one was there to help. You had left Tucker a message begging him to meet you at the corner of the central Park but by the time anyone got there you were dead. I've been doing my best to fill in for Danny's absence taking care of the ghosts that get free and everything but it isn't that easy..."

Jazz sighed and Sam opened her eyes to look at her as Jazz finished up speaking. "I'm sorry, there isn't that much I know and I'm sure that didn't help you any."

Ember snorted in the corner, and Sam eyed her making a mental note to pester her about what she knew later. "So how did I die?"

Jazz bit her lip setting the cup of coffee down. "Blood loss I guess, we'd better wait before I go on any longer."

Sam stood up and walked toward the edges of the room examining the pictures or ghost instruments set out with no real interest.

"Just tell me, how long ago was that?" Sam asked competing against the doorbell that rang almost at the same moment.

Jazz stood up and crossed the room toward the door pausing before she opened it. "About three years ago Sam. You were fifteen."

Sam had only been a ghost for a few hours but the sudden realization of this new world sunk in quickly enough. As a ghost she may have looked ominously beautiful but she would never age as everyone in life she had known grew older. She could move things in 'the real world' using her will to push on it but she couldn't simply feel them. She could float fly and turn invisible, walk through walls and use a bolt of purple lightening but she couldn't do the human things no matter what her powers were. Sam briefly pondered if Ember missed that, being part of the human world instead of being a damned soul forever wondering the worlds. Sam wasn't sure what she felt about being dead. She didn't want to think about it so she simply pushed it in the back of her head.

Tucker walked in but he'd stopped in the doorway looking over Sam. She couldn't say she'd recognized him like that, considering he'd also aged three years while she'd stayed the same but he didn't look like a complete stranger.

"She really is back." He said still staring at her before he looked over at Ember.

Sam once again jumped to her defense before another fight broke out but Tucker simply shrugged muttering something about 'not being surprised anymore.'

He sat down in a spare chair across from Sam and pulled out a few pictures he'd brought with him.

"You really can't remember anything?" He asked to confirm what Jazz had told him on the phone and Sam nodded looking over the faces on the Polaroids.

"It's coming back, I think. But I certainly don't remember how we ended up like this." She indicated the surroundings and Ember groaned as Tucker gave her a more accurate five minute background of her life.

"We have reason to believe Danny and Valerie were and maybe still are being held in the ghost zone."

Tucker also looked grim when he said that and Sam kicked off the ground to float a few feet while she thought absently.

"Did any of you guys actually go into the ghost zone to look for them?"

A sudden silence she didn't know possible followed Sam's statement and all eyes were on her.

"We couldn't, I mean it would be way to dangerous for us to—"

Sam smiled as she spoke looking down at the two. "What have I got to lose, I'm already dead. Where do you think they are being held?"

Ember shot up before the other two could take up Sam's offer.

"There is no way I'm going to fight against that ghost king!" She hissed and flipped around flying through the wall and into the night.

Sam glanced at the two humans before jetting out behind the fuming musician.

"I can't go in there without you."

Ember stopped flight suddenly and turned on her. "Look kid, I'll cut you some slack because you have no memory but going up against the ghost king or his friggin' minions is suicidal and there is no way I'm going. If you haven't noticed, if the ghost kid couldn't escape then neither could we. You'd be spending the next few centuries of your afterlife in _pain_."

Sam wasn't phased by Ember's verbal attack but secretly relieved she'd even got the ghost to stop.

"Look, if we free them then maybe they could actually beat the ghost king instead of everyone living in fear all the time."

"I don't live in fear!" Ember snapped making her voice rise into a near yell, "Even if we do save the stupid dipstick halfa then the first thing he's gonna do and shove us back in the ghost zone and we'll never get anything out of it."

The white haired ghost gave up and backed down floating back a few inches and she stared at the ground. Something about what Ember said really struck her and she knew it had to do with Danny. Would he shove them back into the ghost zone if they were once best friends?

"Look Ember," Sam started again, her voice remarkably lighter than it had been earlier. "If you don't want to help me fight him off then can you at least lead me there? Maybe after all of that I'd catch up to you anyway."

Ember eyed the girl thinking for a moment. That moment seemed horribly long to Sam who couldn't even look up to meet her eyes.

"Fine stupid, I'll lead ya there."

0-0

A/N for anyone that cares: I know my summary isn't great so I'm relying on the reviewers I guess. I probably made a mistake writing this from Sam's place considering she doesn't remember anything. But I really need you people to tell me if you are still confused! I'm serious because the explaining doesn't go much farther than the third chapter. Anyway, I'm trying hard to make the characters in character but dealing with this subject everyone has changed a bit. I'm also trying a new writing style so if it picks up in the next paragraph seeming like there was a time lapse, there was. But if you understood this chapter that is as hard as it gets.

Review! I hate talking to myself.


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